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Fancy lunch with Carl Hester or a lesson with Piggy French? Now’s your chance!


  • Who would you add to your dream dinner party guest list? Olympic eventer William Fox-Pitt perhaps, dressage maestro Carl Hester or racing legend AP McCoy? Well, now is your chance to make it a reality with some of the once-in-a-lifetime auction prizes up for grabs in the Cheltenham Countryside Day silent auction.

    The auction, which raises funds to help towards the Team GBR expenses for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, has been extended to run until Sunday, 24 November, after the forced abandonment of Friday’s racing due to wet ground conditions.

    Among the top lots is the opportunity for you and seven guests to enjoy a three-course dinner cooked by Alice and William Fox-Pitt, and served by Olympic dressage and jumping riders Spencer Wilton and Ben Maher, hosted by the Count and Countess Bathurst in the State Dining Room at Cirencester Park.

    Or you could join Zara and Mike Tindall at their home for lunch, along with AP McCoy and his wife Chanelle. Dressage fans can opt to join Olympic gold medallists Carl Hester and Charlotte Dujardin at their Gloucestershire yard, to watch and learn about their training methods, and then enjoy a private lunch with Carl and Charlotte.

    Other auction items include a private lesson with 2019 Badminton winner Piggy French, a morning spent at the yard of Olympic gold medallist Laura Tomlinson, various hunting packages, a private tour of the Royal Mews, a two-week trip exploring Northern Rajhasthan, India, and a share in three top racehorses as part of a syndicate.

    View all the auction items >>

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    “Team GBR riders are the best there are,” said Desi Dillingham, chair of the fundraising committee. “Our riders and officials have generously given items for the auction that money cannot buy, and our riders have given their skills, their time and making personal appearances in the pursuit of raising funds to help our Tokyo 2020 efforts.

    “Friday at Cheltenham was supposed to be our big day, with many of our biggest names coming to the frontline to help fundraise for 2020. Please help support our riders in their campaign to bring glory and medals back to Britain in 2020.”

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